Microsoft Windows 8 (Eight) Released (1 Viewer)

[Maelstrom]

Not sure if I'm surprised I couldn't find a thread for Windows 8 or not. Microsoft officially released it today.

Working through the Upgrade Assistant right now, making sure there isn't anything that'll keep this from being a no-go on my main computer, but looking forward to upgrading. I've been running the Release Candidate on my 7 year old laptop for a few months now and it runs pretty good. I think people really need to use Windows 8 for themselves, cause there are some nice enhancements, even for non-touch/primarily desktop type users, which I definitely am. I think this launch will be really interesting for Microsoft, particularly around Christmas time as people get new computers and have to figure out how to use Windows 8. That said, I'm not too concerned about the usability issues that have been reported as I think they are a bit overblown from my own personal use. It is very simple to "get" and once you get it, it's easy to remember. Main thing - corners are hot (for mouse users) and keyboard shortcuts are your friends.

Everything I've read said this is most polished Microsoft OS on day 1, so I'm not too concerned about early adoption on this one (although that's why I'm checking all the compatibility first.)

Microsoft is running a special ($39.99) price for upgrading from now until the end of the year. (windows.microsoft.com)

Get Media Center for free - it's not bundled, guessing for anti-anti-trust reasons - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/feature-packs

Anyone else upgrading or buy new hardware that already has it?

 

[belljr]

We have it on a pact work, not a fan. Just finally started to enjoy win 7, so no rush to upgrade for me

 

[Maelstrom]

We have it on a pact work, not a fan. Just finally started to enjoy win 7, so no rush to upgrade for me

What is a pact work? And just too much of a change? Can you expound on why you aren't a fan (genuinely curious)? What I found on my laptop that as soon as I started treating the Start Screen (Metro) as just my start menu, just full screen, I found it made much more sense. But like I said, I'm in desktop mode 90% of the time.

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

We have it on a pact work, not a fan. Just finally started to enjoy win 7, so no rush to upgrade for me

What is a pact work?

I'm guessing he meant "a pc at work."The little I've seen of Windows 8 makes me wonder why I'd ever want to upgrade to it. Sounds like I would permanently want to leave it in classic desktop mode anyway. Am I misunderstanding?As someone who's happy with the current version of Windows on my laptop, why should I upgrade to 8?

 

[Fennis]

I've been using Windows 8 on my main desktop for awhile. I like it. It took me a about a week to get used to using the windows key instead of the start button, but once I did, it works well.

I'll upgrade all my home computers in the next few weeks.

I also have a Surface which I'll play around with tonight.

 

[Maelstrom]

We have it on a pact work, not a fan. Just finally started to enjoy win 7, so no rush to upgrade for me

What is a pact work?

I'm guessing he meant "a pc at work."The little I've seen of Windows 8 makes me wonder why I'd ever want to upgrade to it. Sounds like I would permanently want to leave it in classic desktop mode anyway. Am I misunderstanding?

As someone who's happy with the current version of Windows on my laptop, why should I upgrade to 8?

Good call on the pc at work.As for benefits for "desktop users" on why upgrade, this was a good article about the new features that make upgrading look like a good bet:

http://www.extremete...-from-windows-7

I think Microsoft is promoting the "squares" on the Metro interface, but realistically, that is not where you will be spending a lot of time. It'll be a launch pad to whatever you want to do, and it actually works well for that purpose.

 

[Fennis]

We have it on a pact work, not a fan. Just finally started to enjoy win 7, so no rush to upgrade for me

What is a pact work?

I'm guessing he meant "a pc at work."The little I've seen of Windows 8 makes me wonder why I'd ever want to upgrade to it. Sounds like I would permanently want to leave it in classic desktop mode anyway. Am I misunderstanding?As someone who's happy with the current version of Windows on my laptop, why should I upgrade to 8?

For the touch capabilities, for the increased perfomance, for the apps, IE10 and Windows 8 is really great experience.

 

[Maelstrom]

I've been using Windows 8 on my main desktop for awhile. I like it. It took me a about a week to get used to using the windows key instead of the start button, but once I did, it works well.I'll upgrade all my home computers in the next few weeks.I also have a Surface which I'll play around with tonight.

Nice. My boss was showing off his Surface today, probably end up in the QA lab at work for testing purposes. It looked pretty slick, but I don't think I'd personally want the RT (Metro style only) version, and the others are likely to be expensive enough that I just go for a laptop.

 

[Judge Smails]

On MSNBC they were saying the reviews of both, especially for Surface, were HORRENDOUS. Confusing UI, etc.

 

[Mario Kart]

I have to use Windows at work but I use it very little. I've been a Mac guy since '05' and have not tinkered much with any Windows OS since.

I was contemplating getting the Surface but that OS and such is not what I need to use at work. Instead, I'm going to get the ThinkPad Tablet 2 because it has Windows Pro as well as MS Office. I'm sure I will get used to Windows 8 just fine. I doubt Windows 8 is needed for desktop users since, from what I've read, is a touch based OS more so than a desktop OS. I personally cannot wait till I can get my hands on that ThinkPad because I need it to enhance work.

 

[netnalp]

I heard it works better for touch systems and not so well with systems using a mouse and keyboard.

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

Yeah, I'm not seeing any reason I'd want to upgrade at this point. Not for me.

 

[Das Boot]

I'll wait for SP1, but GB the trailblazers.

 

[17seconds]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

 

[drummer]

Family member just bought a laptop with it pre-loaded. For a tech savvy guy like me, I found it confusing and frustrating right out of the box. This is their first computer. My challenge this weekend is to make it usable for them. Which means my weekend is shot.

 

[Maelstrom]

Family member just bought a laptop with it pre-loaded. For a tech savvy guy like me, I found it confusing and frustrating right out of the box. This is their first computer. My challenge this weekend is to make it usable for them. Which means my weekend is shot.

Unsolicited advice, I would suggest, seeing as they have no/little prior experience, that you not press your notions of "how it should work" on them. Teach them things they need to know, but I would find it very fascinating (and frustrating too at times) to help someone with very little experience get setup and running. Let them use Windows 8 as Microsoft envisions (assuming they have a vision) rather than how you use Windows.Again, totally unsolicited, so take it for whatever it is worth. Free advice and all that.

 

[Osaurus]

Tried to upgrade from Win7, but keeps failing. Will probably have to do a clean install at some point soon.

 

[Fennis]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

you don't need to use the tile interface.

 

[belljr]

Lol yes pc at work stupid auto correct... When im not on my phone ill try to give my thoughts

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

you don't need to use the tile interface.

Is that really true?This article pretty much confirms what I fear about Windows 8 - that they tried too hard to make a single OS that worked on both mobile, touch devices and desktop, mouse-and-keyboard devices, and ultimately ended up with a crappy combination of the two. The desktop-specific improvements sound enticing but I have no intention of putting any of that tile bull#### on my laptop. I'm perfectly happy with the previous version of Windows.

 

[cstu]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

you don't need to use the tile interface.

Is that really true?This article pretty much confirms what I fear about Windows 8 - that they tried too hard to make a single OS that worked on both mobile, touch devices and desktop, mouse-and-keyboard devices, and ultimately ended up with a crappy combination of the two. The desktop-specific improvements sound enticing but I have no intention of putting any of that tile bull#### on my laptop. I'm perfectly happy with the previous version of Windows.

Yes, you can run it in 'classic' mode. I have no interest in running Metro (except on a tablet) and still use the Windows 7 Basic theme.

 

[Controller]

FWIW, the IT guy in my office is saying that Windows 8 is going to be a lot like Windows Vista in many ways, none of them flattering. His advice: stay away.

 

[drummer]

Family member just bought a laptop with it pre-loaded. For a tech savvy guy like me, I found it confusing and frustrating right out of the box. This is their first computer. My challenge this weekend is to make it usable for them. Which means my weekend is shot.

Unsolicited advice, I would suggest, seeing as they have no/little prior experience, that you not press your notions of "how it should work" on them. Teach them things they need to know, but I would find it very fascinating (and frustrating too at times) to help someone with very little experience get setup and running. Let them use Windows 8 as Microsoft envisions (assuming they have a vision) rather than how you use Windows.Again, totally unsolicited, so take it for whatever it is worth. Free advice and all that.

Thanks for the advice, but all I'm trying to do at this point is get into Windows itself. Using the trackpad on the laptop is a bit of a learning curve (albeit not my much) itself to find the edges and corners that manipulate the OS and it's environments. If I was gonna set this up for me, I would have scrapped 8 for 7, and dual booted with Linux Mint KDE. If I was gonna make this even simpler for them and their usage, Jolicloud on a lesser machine. Right now, I am just trying to figure out this Windows 8 mess.

 

[17seconds]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

you don't need to use the tile interface.

I have to switch into desktop every time. The tiles are always there somewhere, waiting for me.Hopefully someone figures out how to make it so I never see it.

 

[17seconds]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

you don't need to use the tile interface.

Is that really true?This article pretty much confirms what I fear about Windows 8 - that they tried too hard to make a single OS that worked on both mobile, touch devices and desktop, mouse-and-keyboard devices, and ultimately ended up with a crappy combination of the two. The desktop-specific improvements sound enticing but I have no intention of putting any of that tile bull#### on my laptop. I'm perfectly happy with the previous version of Windows.

Stephen Sinofsky, the VP in charge of Windows and MSFT said in the near future we'll all think any monitor that isn't a touchscreen is broken. They are banking on people using he tile interface for everything.

 

[Maelstrom]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

you don't need to use the tile interface.

Is that really true?This article pretty much confirms what I fear about Windows 8 - that they tried too hard to make a single OS that worked on both mobile, touch devices and desktop, mouse-and-keyboard devices, and ultimately ended up with a crappy combination of the two. The desktop-specific improvements sound enticing but I have no intention of putting any of that tile bull#### on my laptop. I'm perfectly happy with the previous version of Windows.

Stephen Sinofsky, the VP in charge of Windows and MSFT said in the near future we'll all think any monitor that isn't a touchscreen is broken. They are banking on people using he tile interface for everything.

The Tile Mode (Metro) is the new "Start" menu, and also the launching place for any metro style apps (think iOS style apps, fullscreen and from the Microsoft Store.) Windows 8 will always boot into the Metro interface. The big misnomer, perpetuated by media outlets that spend 5 minutes reviewing the software, is that you have to spend much, if any, time in that tile interface, except for one click after boot (to get to the desktop.) You could then launch all of the things you do from the desktop itself, but the metro interface can be setup to be very efficient for launching programs. While it is "designed" for touch, that doesn't mean it is bad for mouse navigation.Couple tips for using it:

[*]Use scroll wheel to navigate the screen

[*]Settings -> Tiles -> Show more tiles (more tiles vertically, less "white" space)

[*]Just start typing to search (don't need to open charms bar and click search icon)

[*]Click the - (minus) icon in the bottom right corner to "zoom out" to see more icons (also allows you to name/rearrange tile groups)

 

[Maelstrom]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

you don't need to use the tile interface.

I have to switch into desktop every time. The tiles are always there somewhere, waiting for me.Hopefully someone figures out how to make it so I never see it.

This might do it, but looks like it also installs its own "app store" so not sure if I recommend it:https://www.pokki.com/

 

[drummer]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

you don't need to use the tile interface.

I have to switch into desktop every time. The tiles are always there somewhere, waiting for me.Hopefully someone figures out how to make it so I never see it.

This might do it, but looks like it also installs its own "app store" so not sure if I recommend it:https://www.pokki.com/

That looks a lot like the Menus in Linux Mint Cinnamon as well as other versions.

 

[zDragon]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

I love the tiled interface. It gives me all the information I need when I startup the PC in a nice tiled view. Weather, News, Calendar, E-mail, Sports Scores for favorite teams, plus league news, and a family photo slideshow.It is so simple to switch to desktop mode or switch apps that I just don't get the hate. Almost seems like the in thing to do.

 

[zDragon]

Family member just bought a laptop with it pre-loaded. For a tech savvy guy like me, I found it confusing and frustrating right out of the box. This is their first computer. My challenge this weekend is to make it usable for them. Which means my weekend is shot.

Care to expand on this. I've had it for awhile now and as a Tech guy it was never confusing or frustrating. I was more impressed with the new way I can work with the system and get more information at a glance.

 

[zDragon]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

you don't need to use the tile interface.

Is that really true?This article pretty much confirms what I fear about Windows 8 - that they tried too hard to make a single OS that worked on both mobile, touch devices and desktop, mouse-and-keyboard devices, and ultimately ended up with a crappy combination of the two. The desktop-specific improvements sound enticing but I have no intention of putting any of that tile bull#### on my laptop. I'm perfectly happy with the previous version of Windows.

Stephen Sinofsky, the VP in charge of Windows and MSFT said in the near future we'll all think any monitor that isn't a touchscreen is broken. They are banking on people using he tile interface for everything.

The Tile Mode (Metro) is the new "Start" menu, and also the launching place for any metro style apps (think iOS style apps, fullscreen and from the Microsoft Store.) Windows 8 will always boot into the Metro interface. The big misnomer, perpetuated by media outlets that spend 5 minutes reviewing the software, is that you have to spend much, if any, time in that tile interface, except for one click after boot (to get to the desktop.) You could then launch all of the things you do from the desktop itself, but the metro interface can be setup to be very efficient for launching programs. While it is "designed" for touch, that doesn't mean it is bad for mouse navigation.Couple tips for using it:

[*]Use scroll wheel to navigate the screen

[*]Settings -> Tiles -> Show more tiles (more tiles vertically, less "white" space)

[*]Just start typing to search (don't need to open charms bar and click search icon)

[*]Click the - (minus) icon in the bottom right corner to "zoom out" to see more icons (also allows you to name/rearrange tile groups)

Good tips. I've used tools for this ability for awhile. Easiest way to find and launch programs.

 

[drummer]

Family member just bought a laptop with it pre-loaded. For a tech savvy guy like me, I found it confusing and frustrating right out of the box. This is their first computer. My challenge this weekend is to make it usable for them. Which means my weekend is shot.

Care to expand on this. I've had it for awhile now and as a Tech guy it was never confusing or frustrating. I was more impressed with the new way I can work with the system and get more information at a glance.

I explained a bit in a later post. I haven't spent too much time with it yet (just a little bit more this morning), but when I do I will post the results FWIW. I may just try a copy of it booted on the Mac before I can set the person's laptop up. But out of the box, it is confusing. I just want the desktop menu back. Why they excluded it I dunno.

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

This reminds me of when Office 2007 came out and I was told that once I got used to all the new "ribbons" I'd love them. It's years later and they're still horrible.

Re: the tiles, I don't need all that stuff when I turn on my PC. They already have all that crap, except they called them "widgets" or whatever, and I don't use those either. Again that seems like something that's much more geared towards the mobile user. Why they decided to make one single OS for two entirely different device types is beyond me. The abilities and experience I want on my mobile device are totally different than the abilities and experience I want on my desktop. I could very well be wrong about this - I've never even used it - but from what I can tell of it, Windows 8 seems like an epic flop in the making to me. It feels like they're trying to take a page out of Steve Jobs's playbook by giving everyone something they didn't even know they wanted, except the product they're trying to sell just sounds poorly thought out. I'm sure I'll take some heat for criticizing it without even seeing it in person yet, but that's kind of the point. I have no desire to upgrade to this OS at all, and this is the first Windows upgrade I've ever said that about.

 

[FBG26]

This reminds me of when Office 2007 came out and I was told that once I got used to all the new "ribbons" I'd love them. It's years later and they're still horrible.

I hated the ribbon too at first, but I became a big believer. I think it is probably more intuitive for somebody who was never exposed to the old format, and I think 8 will probably be similar. Then again, I have no experience with 8 so it could flop just as badly as Vista. The good news is the W7 is a solid OS and should be supported for quite some time so there is no need to upgrade if you aren't digging the new OS.

 

[SacramentoBob]

I haven't touched either Win8 or Server 2012. Server 2012 seems to be pretty universally loved whereas Win 8 is disliked as a desktop OS.This review pretty much sums it up.

Far and away the my biggest concern about Microsoft Windows 8 is the user interface changes, and specifically those that were dubbed “Metro” until the name was changed to “Windows 8″ (I’ll be referring to them as Metro throughout the post here, since everybody knows what I’m talking about). My biggest complaint is really twofold. First, the Metro interface is really designed for people on a single screen computer who use their fingers to interact with the screen directly.That isn’t me. That isn’t most people, frankly.Second, the user interface is dichotomous. Parts of it work one way, building on 35 years of windowing systems designed originally at Xerox PARC. The other parts don’t adhere to any of those standards. They’re hard to use because they don’t work in any way that’s particularly intuitive to someone with a mouse and a keyboard. Swiping from the sides makes sense if you have a hand and a small screen, but despite the work they did to extend the sensitivity in the corners, based on Fitts’ Law, it’s still hard to get the mouse cursor precisely where you need it when you have a monitor on either side of your main screen.I had one acquaintance tell me that if I had a touch-screen monitor Windows 8 would make sense. Having to move my hands off the keyboard to use the mouse is bad enough, now I need to reach out and touch my screen? How does that speed my work? Besides, fingerprints on my monitor drive me insane. Desktop users want to touch keyboards and mice. That’s it.Metro-style apps don’t work well with multiple monitors.

I think I remember reading a long time ago that Microsoft wasn't even intending Win 8 to be a desktop OS at first.

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

This reminds me of when Office 2007 came out and I was told that once I got used to all the new "ribbons" I'd love them. It's years later and they're still horrible.

I hated the ribbon too at first, but I became a big believer. I think it is probably more intuitive for somebody who was never exposed to the old format, and I think 8 will probably be similar.

Certainly possible. I'm a heavy Excel and Access user and the 2007 changes were an abomination IMO. I do a lot of stuff with keyboard shortcuts anyway but for the rest of it I just installed add ons that replace the ribbon interface with a 2003-style interface. Similarly I've been using Windows on desktop for 20+ years, so all this stuff that's seemingly geared toward mobile is just useless to me. I have an iPhone for all that stuff, I don't need it on my PC.

 

[Mario Kart]

This reminds me of when Office 2007 came out and I was told that once I got used to all the new "ribbons" I'd love them. It's years later and they're still horrible. Re: the tiles, I don't need all that stuff when I turn on my PC. They already have all that crap, except they called them "widgets" or whatever, and I don't use those either. Again that seems like something that's much more geared towards the mobile user. Why they decided to make one single OS for two entirely different device types is beyond me. The abilities and experience I want on my mobile device are totally different than the abilities and experience I want on my desktop. I could very well be wrong about this - I've never even used it - but from what I can tell of it, Windows 8 seems like an epic flop in the making to me. It feels like they're trying to take a page out of Steve Jobs's playbook by giving everyone something they didn't even know they wanted, except the product they're trying to sell just sounds poorly thought out. I'm sure I'll take some heat for criticizing it without even seeing it in person yet, but that's kind of the point. I have no desire to upgrade to this OS at all, and this is the first Windows upgrade I've ever said that about.

I'm an Apple guy and like I said above, I have not tinkered with Windows much at all since I switched. From an Apple point of view, I can tell you they have sold their customers short when it comes to the iPad. I am liking the idea that I can have a full OS as well as a full desktop on a tablet. Apple should have done this long ago with how easy their OS is to work with but also to allow customers a better experience.I can also tell you that I hate the Office ribbons or whatever that crap is called. What also sucks is having Apple Pages (Apple's version of Word) on my computer as well as on my iPad and they are both different. Sure, there are similarities but two different setups that you have to get used to. I cannot speak directly to it but I would think MS Office on the tablets are going to be the same or very similar to that on a desktop since you can switch between the Mobile OS and Desktop OS. All I am saying is that Apple has been very slow to adapt to what some of their customers want and MS may have hit it on the button. MS's problem is that they over priced their products if they want to make a huge dent in the tablet department. But, I'm not sure that is their goal right now.

 

[zDragon]

This reminds me of when Office 2007 came out and I was told that once I got used to all the new "ribbons" I'd love them. It's years later and they're still horrible. Re: the tiles, I don't need all that stuff when I turn on my PC. They already have all that crap, except they called them "widgets" or whatever, and I don't use those either. Again that seems like something that's much more geared towards the mobile user. Why they decided to make one single OS for two entirely different device types is beyond me. The abilities and experience I want on my mobile device are totally different than the abilities and experience I want on my desktop. I could very well be wrong about this - I've never even used it - but from what I can tell of it, Windows 8 seems like an epic flop in the making to me. It feels like they're trying to take a page out of Steve Jobs's playbook by giving everyone something they didn't even know they wanted, except the product they're trying to sell just sounds poorly thought out. I'm sure I'll take some heat for criticizing it without even seeing it in person yet, but that's kind of the point. I have no desire to upgrade to this OS at all, and this is the first Windows upgrade I've ever said that about.

I'm an Apple guy and like I said above, I have not tinkered with Windows much at all since I switched. From an Apple point of view, I can tell you they have sold their customers short when it comes to the iPad. I am liking the idea that I can have a full OS as well as a full desktop on a tablet. Apple should have done this long ago with how easy their OS is to work with but also to allow customers a better experience.I can also tell you that I hate the Office ribbons or whatever that crap is called. What also sucks is having Apple Pages (Apple's version of Word) on my computer as well as on my iPad and they are both different. Sure, there are similarities but two different setups that you have to get used to. I cannot speak directly to it but I would think MS Office on the tablets are going to be the same or very similar to that on a desktop since you can switch between the Mobile OS and Desktop OS. All I am saying is that Apple has been very slow to adapt to what some of their customers want and MS may have hit it on the button. MS's problem is that they over priced their products if they want to make a huge dent in the tablet department. But, I'm not sure that is their goal right now.

iPad is simply a bigger iPhone. I stated when it first came out I would have been on board 100% if it was true desktop Mac OSx in that form factor that was touch friendly.

 

[Maelstrom]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

I love the tiled interface. It gives me all the information I need when I startup the PC in a nice tiled view. Weather, News, Calendar, E-mail, Sports Scores for favorite teams, plus league news, and a family photo slideshow.It is so simple to switch to desktop mode or switch apps that I just don't get the hate. Almost seems like the in thing to do.

I don't get the hate, especially since many/most of the people hating on it haven't ever even touched it. And the reviewers have been pretty horrible, many times showing that they wrote articles without spending more than 5 minutes in front of Win8 using it.As for the ribbon, that has been proven to be a productivity enhancer, and it has been integrated into the Windows Explorer now as well. It was one of the best things Microsoft has done. I can understand some heavy Office users hating it, but it is great for the masses of users that use 10% of the features of any office suite (that includes most office/business workers.) I also don't think Windows 8 works bad for keyboard/mouse users, multi-monitor works great (you can't run Metro style apps on more than one monitor, but you can choose which monitor to run it on, and with multiple monitors you always have easy access to your desktop and the task bar. Multi-mon makes Windows 8 better, not worse, IMO.

 

[glock]

Anyone else kick the tires on Windows 8 yet? I'm looking at a couple of Lenovo laptops on their site and they ALL have 8. I have not been impressed by what I have heard to date, but I'll admit I haven't heard much.

TIA

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

Stephen Sinofsky, the VP in charge of Windows and MSFT said in the near future we'll all think any monitor that isn't a touchscreen is broken. They are banking on people using he tile interface for everything.

Maybe I'm just totally out of touch but I think he's waaaay off with this. I have no desire to touch my monitor, not on a desktop PC at least. I've got a keyboard and mouse in front of me, why would I want to be raising my arms 5,000 times a day to touch #### on the screen? There's obviously an exploding market for touch devices, I get that. I love my iPhone and I'm in the market for a tablet for my family. But the market for old school mouse-and-keyboard-controlled PCs is not going anywhere anytime soon. That they tried to make a single OS to run both kinds of devices seems insane to me. It's a totally different kind of user experience that I want/need/expect out of a handheld touch device and desktop computer, and they deserve totally different interfaces.

 

[17seconds]

Stephen Sinofsky, the VP in charge of Windows and MSFT said in the near future we'll all think any monitor that isn't a touchscreen is broken. They are banking on people using he tile interface for everything.

Maybe I'm just totally out of touch but I think he's waaaay off with this. I have no desire to touch my monitor, not on a desktop PC at least. I've got a keyboard and mouse in front of me, why would I want to be raising my arms 5,000 times a day to touch #### on the screen? There's obviously an exploding market for touch devices, I get that. I love my iPhone and I'm in the market for a tablet for my family. But the market for old school mouse-and-keyboard-controlled PCs is not going anywhere anytime soon. That they tried to make a single OS to run both kinds of devices seems insane to me. It's a totally different kind of user experience that I want/need/expect out of a handheld touch device and desktop computer, and they deserve totally different interfaces.

Yeah, well he left/was fired a couple of weeks ago.

 

[17seconds]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

I love the tiled interface. It gives me all the information I need when I startup the PC in a nice tiled view. Weather, News, Calendar, E-mail, Sports Scores for favorite teams, plus league news, and a family photo slideshow.It is so simple to switch to desktop mode or switch apps that I just don't get the hate. Almost seems like the in thing to do.

I don't get the hate, especially since many/most of the people hating on it haven't ever even touched it. And the reviewers have been pretty horrible, many times showing that they wrote articles without spending more than 5 minutes in front of Win8 using it.As for the ribbon, that has been proven to be a productivity enhancer, and it has been integrated into the Windows Explorer now as well. It was one of the best things Microsoft has done. I can understand some heavy Office users hating it, but it is great for the masses of users that use 10% of the features of any office suite (that includes most office/business workers.)

I also don't think Windows 8 works bad for keyboard/mouse users, multi-monitor works great (you can't run Metro style apps on more than one monitor, but you can choose which monitor to run it on, and with multiple monitors you always have easy access to your desktop and the task bar. Multi-mon makes Windows 8 better, not worse, IMO.

I as at the launch event a year ago and totally bought into the presentation they gave on why this new UI is better.But after using it for the last year I don't like it and don't know anyone at work who does either. I hope it does well - my company has some Win8 tile UI products we are selling, but dislike has been the overwhelming consensus.

 

[netnalp]

Stephen Sinofsky, the VP in charge of Windows and MSFT said in the near future we'll all think any monitor that isn't a touchscreen is broken. They are banking on people using he tile interface for everything.

Maybe I'm just totally out of touch but I think he's waaaay off with this. I have no desire to touch my monitor, not on a desktop PC at least. I've got a keyboard and mouse in front of me, why would I want to be raising my arms 5,000 times a day to touch #### on the screen? There's obviously an exploding market for touch devices, I get that. I love my iPhone and I'm in the market for a tablet for my family. But the market for old school mouse-and-keyboard-controlled PCs is not going anywhere anytime soon. That they tried to make a single OS to run both kinds of devices seems insane to me. It's a totally different kind of user experience that I want/need/expect out of a handheld touch device and desktop computer, and they deserve totally different interfaces.

Finger prints on my screen would drive me nuts.

 

[cstu]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

you don't need to use the tile interface.

I have to switch into desktop every time. The tiles are always there somewhere, waiting for me.Hopefully someone figures out how to make it so I never see it.

If I want Windows to boot into desktop mode at startup then that should be an option at select during installation.

 

[17seconds]

If there was a desktop only mode I'd be all over it. Can't stand the tile interface. It s fine for tablets but no good for a desktop PC. Keeping win7 until somebody figures out how to disable the tile mode or msft finally caves and realizes how stupid it is on a desktop.

you don't need to use the tile interface.

I have to switch into desktop every time. The tiles are always there somewhere, waiting for me.Hopefully someone figures out how to make it so I never see it.

If I want Windows to boot into desktop mode at startup then that should be an option at select during installation.

You would think

 

[Ignoratio Elenchi]

Stephen Sinofsky, the VP in charge of Windows and MSFT said in the near future we'll all think any monitor that isn't a touchscreen is broken. They are banking on people using he tile interface for everything.

Maybe I'm just totally out of touch but I think he's waaaay off with this. I have no desire to touch my monitor, not on a desktop PC at least. I've got a keyboard and mouse in front of me, why would I want to be raising my arms 5,000 times a day to touch #### on the screen? There's obviously an exploding market for touch devices, I get that. I love my iPhone and I'm in the market for a tablet for my family. But the market for old school mouse-and-keyboard-controlled PCs is not going anywhere anytime soon. That they tried to make a single OS to run both kinds of devices seems insane to me. It's a totally different kind of user experience that I want/need/expect out of a handheld touch device and desktop computer, and they deserve totally different interfaces.

Finger prints on my screen would drive me nuts.

Agreed. Although I don't notice fingerprints on my touchscreen mobile devices so I'm not sure it would be a major issue on a larger monitor. As dumb/lazy as it may sound, I'm just picturing how annoying it would be to have to move my arm to touch a desktop monitor all the time. It's just so inefficient. This idea that all monitors will be touchscreens and we'll use this tile interface for everything is asinine imo.

 

[Maelstrom]

Anyone else kick the tires on Windows 8 yet? I'm looking at a couple of Lenovo laptops on their site and they ALL have 8. I have not been impressed by what I have heard to date, but I'll admit I haven't heard much.TIA

I have been running it since release on my desktop, had (have) the release candidate on my laptop prior to that. Personally, I think the reviews have been unjustly negative in most cases, overplaying the "touch" aspect of Windows 8 and then either panning devices for not having touch or panning Windows 8 touch interface for how it works with a KB/Mouse. In my experience, there is nothing "broken" about using the touch interface with a mouse and keyboard. It works just fine. I do spend 90% of my time in desktop mode, and don't use many of the full screen Windows 8 apps. There are some significant performance advantages with Windows 8, particularly on startup speeds. There have also been good security improvements. Overall, it runs a bit better than Windows 7 did on the same hardware. I treat the Metro interface as a full-screen start menu, and it works for that. It also has better multi-monitor support, although that is probably less of a concern on a laptop.The annoyances: learning the hot corners and keyboard shortcuts (not so much for me since I already use keyboard shortcuts a lot) since things are tucked away. This was a poor usability decision as "out of sight, out of mind" for most, and this is probably one of the largest problems with Windows 8 is that menus and options are frequently hidden away. Also, sleeping or turning off the machine through software is a multi-gesture/click affair. Of course, many people just use their power button, but on a desktop where the machine may not be readily accessible, that isn't really a good option. I actually made a sleep and powerdown shortcut to fix that. The other modification I made was to have it boot straight to desktop mode. It was a pretty easy hack, and so it bypasses the Metro start screen on start-up. I didn't install on of the "start button replacement" apps, don't really find I need that. Plus Windows 8 has a really nice menu of system options when you right-click the start menu corner (bottom left.) It's nice having access to the Store, but I don't use hardly any apps on a regularly basis. Mostly all programs I installed that run in desktop mode. I expect that may change over time as more apps are released, we'll see. Also, some apps are not yet programming things correctly to support both mouse and touch. I think those kinds of things will be resolved as developers get more familiar with app programming, but for now some apps can be hit or miss depending on the app programming.Overall, I recommend Windows 8 for 2 reasons - if you have to buy a new version of Windows right now, it is the less expensive option and not worse than Windows 7. (Same generally applies to buying a new computer, you'll likely be getting a better machine with Windows 8 than you would get for the same $$ for a machine with Windows 7 on it.) Second, for those that are relatively computer savvy (using, not geeks) it will be a pretty quick adjustment period and there are some nice behind the scenes reasons to use Windows 8. Also, if it makes sense in your budget, getting a machine with a touchscreen is a nice bonus, but I don't think it is required to use Windows 8.I don't recommend a Windows RT tablet right now. And I don't recommend upgrading people who aren't computer savvy just to upgrade them.

 

[SacramentoBob]

Been using Windows 8 at work for the last 2 days. In desktop mode, it's 95% like using Windows 7. I think I like the Start Screen better than the old Start Menu. I don't like the hot corner shortcuts when using dual monitors. I haven't had any trouble with installing apps I used under 7. The 5% differences in desktop mode is going to frustrate point and clickers at first, until they learn the new places things exist to do common tasks, like restart. I think Windows 8 would be a great experience on a tablet. I'm sure I'll have one come my way soon for testing.

Haven't had any crashes, bugs, slowness, glitches or other weirdness. It runs very smoothly, even with only 4GB of RAM.

 

[Slapdash]

It's nice having access to the Store, but I don't use hardly any apps on a regularly basis. Mostly all programs I installed that run in desktop mode. I expect that may change over time as more apps are released, we'll see. Also, some apps are not yet programming things correctly to support both mouse and touch. I think those kinds of things will be resolved as developers get more familiar with app programming, but for now some apps can be hit or miss depending on the app programming.

Is the App Store the only way to download new applications like on Android or iOSs? Or can I just install by downloading an exe or popping in a disk like before?